While it doesn’t usually happen this fast, AutoHotkey scripts which depend on downloaded Web page data can go bad at any time. Last week, I discovered a clever index in the AutoHotkey site which allowed quick access to commands and other documentation. Now, I find that the site has changed and only a couple of the previous searches work. Continue reading →

November 1, 2016: Just as I was marching off in another direction, one more check of the AutoHotkey.com site surprised me. The hidden indexing feature discussed in this blog started working again. Go figure! Will it last? Who knows? But for now, this blog is valid again. I’ll now be able to introduce the AutoHotkey Quick Reference tool I had started working on.

October 26, 2016: I don’t know if it’s temporary or permanent, nor do I know why, but much of the AutoHotkey Web site index capability (if not all) discussed in this blog has been disabled. I don’t know the rationale for the change or if it may return, but it was a great aid to anyone doing AutoHotkey scripting while it lasted. (One week for me from my point of discovery to its disappearance.) Stranger things have happened. Needless to say, I’m back to browser searches for AutoHotkey URLs.

Occasionally (completely by accident), I come across surprising, eye-opening tips. In my last blog, I used an AutoHotkey script to access an online thesaurus by merely highlighting a word and hitting the assigned Hotkey. I began checking other Web sites for how easily I could run a similar site search. Naturally, since I include links to the Web reference commands in virtually every blog I write, I checked out AutoHotkey.com. In the process, I uncovered a remarkable secret. Continue reading →

Expand Your Vocabulary with This Quick and Dirty AutoHotkey Tip Or Modify This Script for Any Web Page Search

This week in ComputorEdge Software Showcase I reviewed Visual Thesaurus which offers a clever way to search for and understand English synonyms. Anyone who does a great deal of writing (or merely wants to self-educate) needs a good thesaurus. While the vocabulary enhancement software fascinated me and I certainly found it uniquely useful, it appeared to be insulated from the usual AutoHotkey techniques. (Other than by first saving the result to a PDF, I found no easy technique for copying a word to the clipboard. Plus, when opening, the app does not accept preloading a search term.) Beyond launching the program with a Hotkey, I didn’t see a simple method for automating the program with AutoHotkey. Other Web thesaurus sites make it easier to launch replacement word searches. Continue reading →

Adding Hard-to-Remember Hotkeys to the AutoHotkey System Tray Icon Makes Sense—Plus, How to Best Activate the Last Window

I’ve put my MousePrecise AutoHotkey script on my own list of favorites. I like the mouse cursor accuracy it adds to any of my graphic applications. I find it particularly useful when selecting a portion of an image for cropping or moving.

However, I recently ran into an issue where the script stopped working in Paint.NET (more details on the source of the problem later in this blog). I tried reloading the script, but to no avail. I decided to use the Hotkey I implemented for adding the window class to the group (GroupAdd command). Humm…I couldn’t recall the key combination. This lapse of memory forced me to open the script and dig through the code. Continue reading →